LAND DESIGNS UNLIMITED LLC

A Patient Craftsman Creating Exceptional Landscapes

Author: John Holden

There’s a Fungus Among Us

While working this week I spotted this cool fungus. I wish I could tell you more about it.

In the picture at the top of the post you can see a puddle of rainwater on the fungus. We’ve had a very rainy summer which is probably why this fungus looks so healthy.

Looking down at the fungus and the puddle. I bet a frog finds that sooner than later.

A shot from the side showing the fungus attached to the tree. The tree it’s growing on is a Japanese Maple, probably a Bloodgood.

Fungus only grows on decaying matter. This tree has dead wood.

If you notice fungus growing on trees in your yard have an arborist you trust have a closer look before it’s too late and the tree falls injuring someone or damaging your property.

If you know anything about this fungus I’m all ears.

August 3, 2018
Why I love Gardening

Tonight as I walked through the yard I saw a spider weaving a web. If you thought a spider carefully crafted a web over the course of days you’re wrong. I would guess it took the spider an hour or two to weave the web below.

This post isn’t about spider webs but it’s related to that moment. As I watched the spider weaving it reminded me of one of the reasons I enjoy gardening.

I enjoy watching the changes in the garden season by the season, month by month and day by day.

A neighbor often comments how he always sees me walking around the yard. I stroll through the yard in the morning, after work or in the evening and admire the plantings and enjoying the changes.

A new addition to the garden this year is my square foot garden. When I was a kid back in the 80’s I read Mel Bartholomew’s book Square Foot Gardening. I loved the concept and planted many squares back in the day.

This spring I read All New Square Foot Gardening and tried it again. My square foot garden has received the most attention of any part of the yard this year.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes growing my square foot garden. We’ll share those lessons another time.

This spring I visited the White Flower Farm and bought a Dinner Plate Dahlia. I’ve always wanted to try one of those giant flowers and figured, “Why not?”

The extent of my soil preparation was digging a hole 10 inches deep, placing the tuber in the hole and filling it half way with dirt. All I’ve done since is water the plant and give it some liquid fertilizer. A couple of weeks ago I filled the hole in the rest of the way and today I staked it.

About 2 1/2 months later my Kelvin Floodlight Dahlia is three feet tall with a yellow flower ready to pop (see image at top of post). I’m in shock at how easy dahlias are to grow and how much fun it was to watch.

You can see the yellow bloom of the dahlia just to the left of the purple coneflower.

Why do you garden?

July 29, 2018
How to Mulch a Tree Incorrectly

Every spring I cringe when I see freshly mulched landscapes. The more is better principle gets beaten silly and mulch spread with reckless abandon.

This isn’t the first time I’ve discussed how to mulch and it won’t be the last. How to mulch correctly is a topic worth repeating.

Volcano mulching is when a mound of mulch is spread around the base of a tree (See photo top of page). The cone grows yearly with each new layer. The sooner we can stop volcano mulching the better.

Below a tree thrives in the forest with no volcano mulching ‘help’ from man. There’s moss growing at the base of the tree because leaves only begin to cover the ground six inches away.

Mimic how mother nature mulches. She doesn’t dump piles of leaves against the base of trees. She spreads a light coating of leaves over the entire forest.

Why is this so hard to understand?

The illustration below shows how to mulch a tree incorrectly by volcano mulching. Mulch spread against the bark creates a moist place that encourages rot. Further, tree roots grow into the mulch making them drought prone. Finally, the mulch is so deep rain runs off and doesn’t reach the roots.

The illustration below shows how to mulch a tree correctly by spreading 2-3 inches or less of mulch 6-12 inches from the trunk of the tree. Mulch doesn’t touch the trunk.

If a tree has over 3 inches of mulch carefully remove it without injuring the bark or roots of the tree.

How to Mulch a Tree Correctly Samples

Below a tree I mulched last year has some dirt and moss around the base of the tree. It would be a shame to slowly kill this beautiful tree by over-mulching.

Another tree mulched the right way. You can see dirt at the base of the tree and that’s good. A few weeds may grow but it’s worth the effort.

How to Mulch a Tree Incorrectly Samples

I often see trees so over mulched you could mulch several more trees with the excess. I’m not kidding!

More volcano mulching. It doesn’t look natural and it’s no good for the tree. The madness has to stop!

Same look, different parking lot.

A beautiful oak tree sentenced to a slow and painful death.

Why would someone do this? I can’t make this stuff up.

Please help stop the volcano mulching madness.

July 26, 2018
Farmall Cub Tractor

This morning I woke up early and went for a walk. The sun was shining through the window and the day called for me to join.

Half a mile from my house I passed a couple of old farm tractors.

The first tractor I saw was the Farmall Cub above. I wish the tractor was in my garage. One of my dreams is to own a Farmall Cub and wagon and take my kids for rides around the yard or just drive it in circles around the yard.

Someday.

Next I saw was a Farmall 656 Tractor. I don’t know a thing about this tractor besides the fact that it’s big. Very big!

I wish you a fun Friday.

July 13, 2018
Another Day at the Office

I’ve been working on Lake Zoar in Monroe CT the last couple days. The weather this week has been beautiful. High 50’s to low 60’s and sunny. Last week I worked in a drizzle mixed with snowflakes.

The improved weather is a welcome change.

The picture at the top of this post is a fire pit overlooking Lake Zoar. If you look over the end of the dock you can see the Stevenson Dam in the distance.

Below is one of the gardens I’ve worked in. It’s straight forward spring maintenance; clean up leaves and sticks, weed, prune winter damage, cut back perennials, edge, turn mulch and re-mulch.

Besides working on a lake there are two streams flanking the property. I’ve listened to babbling brooks most of the day.

No matter how far in my career I am mother nature beats me every time. She uses just the right mix of elegance and randomness. If we take a moment to truly look at nature she is something to behold.

I urge you to go out and look at, not rush through, nature. It does wonders for the mind and body. Time to head to work. Poor me. 🙂

April 24, 2018
My New Favorite Park

For the last week and a half I’ve visited a small park in town. The park starts level by the road but quickly drops off to a small rolling river below.

I’ve gotten in the habit of getting a bacon, egg and cheese and stopping at the park to eat my breakfast. It’s on the way to where I’m working.

My breakfast nook.

The path entering the park.

The real treat comes at the bottom of the hill when you get to the river. It’s a great place to collect your thoughts.

If you look through the crystal clear water you can see the ledge beneath. There’s no mud, just coarse sand below.

Looking up the river you can see the hemlocks that flank it. What a peaceful place.

I couldn’t stop taking pictures.

The old foundation of some sort of building. It’s been a long time since that building served any purpose.

It’s neat how this maple tree grows even though the dirt washed away around its roots. I wouldn’t be surprised if something lives under that tree.

This yellow birch started life growing between two boulders and continues to thrive.

If you live in Newtown, CT you can find the park about a half mile up from where 34 meets 110. You have to look hard or you’ll miss the little parking lot. It takes about 10 minutes to get to the river.

Here’s an article about the Halfway River Open Space.

October 28, 2017
Some Mistakes We Have to Make

I spent most of the day replacing a shock absorber on my truck. It took me from 9 to 6 to replace one shock absorber. One shock absorber!

I quickly learned there’s a lot of rust on suspension parts which ‘welds’ them together. Suspension parts are also in awkward places. Finally, it took two trips to the auto parts store to get the right shocks.

I felt like, and acted like, the new guy today. I made every mistake in the book and wouldn’t be surprised if I came up with some new ones.

The only way to learn how to replace shocks is by doing it. It’s not the same as reading the repair manual or watching a YouTube video. I was bound to make mistakes, mistakes I had to make to learn, mistakes I’ll never make again.

In life there are mistakes you have to make. Whether it’s your first time changing shocks, your first bank account, your first relationship. There are mistakes we all have to make to learn and move forward.

If you’re replacing shocks in a 2002 Dodge Ram 2500 (1) use an impact wrench to remove the top bolt; (2) take off the tire before you try to loosen the bottom bolt and (3) if you need to replace a nut on the shock tower they’re metric M10-1.5 not standard 3/8-16.

Lessons learned!

October 24, 2017
Do The Right Thing

It’s 8:30 at night on Labor Day as I write this post. I just got off the phone with a prospective client who needed some masonry work done to get the CO for their new deck.

After asking questions about the job it became clear what they needed more than a landscape designer was a mason. I assured them that when the time came for grading around the deck or designing the gardens I would be glad to assist.

I recommended they call a local company for the masonry work or visit Southbury Stone and Supply for materials and to get references for masons.

Some contractors would subcontract the job or make something up on the fly. I’ve reached the point in life where I know what I do well, and profitably, and what I don’t. I enjoy masonry work but my detailed mind can’t get the work done quickly enough and frankly its heavy work.

I don’t know if I did the right thing or not but I listened to my gut. If I’ve learned one thing in life it’s to always listen to your gut.

I hope I get a call to design and install some landscaping work around the new deck. It sounds gorgeous.

*Note: The featured image is a patio I installed in the late 90’s. I cut granite slabs to make the rounded corners and used flamed bluestone for the patio. The granite slabs I used for the steps had a ‘cushion edge’ to give them a weathered look.

My clients hired masons to build steps to their new french door. When the mason stepped on the patio he looked at me and said, “Do you think you’re working with wood?” That’s one of my favorite projects.

September 4, 2017
What a Bunch of Turkeys

Last week I started working at a home with several bird feeders. It’s amazing the birds a good feeder will attract.

July 1, 2017